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Thursday, October 8, 2015

Spotlight On...Kristin McCarthy Parker

Name: Kristin McCarthy Parker

Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC

Education: University of Evansville

Favorite Credits:Hold On To Your Butts, Kapow-i GoGo

Why theater?: The stories we tell and how we tell them have an immense impact on how we view the world and ourselves within it--an impact that is most tangible in a live setting in the company of others.

Tell us about Dracula:Dracula is an immersive retelling of Bram Stoker's novel, set in an old church on 86th and Amsterdam that we've decked out to feel like a Victorian haunted house of sorts. The adaptation is Steven Dietz's--this is actually the New York premier of this play!--and we've peppered it with Three Day Hangover's signature drinking games and audience interaction. It's one part terrifying melodrama, one part audience participation, and one part comedy.

What inspired you to direct Dracula?: I was actually brought on board as the associate director under Lori Wolter Hudson, one of 3DH team. There was a little surprise in the form of her beautiful baby girl being born, and it became necessary for me to step up as director. This type of show--immersive, fast-paced, physical--is right in my wheelhouse, and I've been dying to work with 3DH for some time, so it was a happy accident that things worked out how they did.

What kind of theater speaks to you What or who inspires you as an artist?: I enjoy seeing pretty much everything, but I love directing comedy. I love working on shows that are surprising, physical, and directly engaging with their audience.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: There are like a million directors on this list, but I would love to be in the room for a show with Bill Irwin.

Who would play you in a movie about your life and what would it be called?: A young Sigourney Weaver.. It would be called, “Where Did I Put My Keys? ...and other daily struggles”

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Always bummed me out that I missed Anne Washburn's Mr. Burns...

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Weirdly enough, I started watching "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" a couple weeks before being brought on to this show. It's fitting, but I'm very much immersed in the 90s--early aughts right now because of it.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Something in academia, most likely. I always loved doing research and writing papers in school... #nerd

What's up next?: I have a few things right now... Two plays by Matt Cox at The Peoples Improv Theater: Kapow-i GoGo (www.kapowigogo.com) and the upcoming Puffs, about a certain underestimated house at a certain school of witchcraft and wizardry. I'm also directing for the Atlantic Acting School and helping out with a project called This Is My Brave, which aims to destigmatize mental illness by allows those who live with to share their stories in a safe and supportive setting.